Vegetarian Festival

Vegetarian Festival in Tam Vu - Long An The festival is held every year in the middle of the first lunar month (January 16) in Tam Vu town, Chau Thanh district, Long An province. This is a traditional folk festival with the unique identity of the local people. The main purpose of the festival is to restore traditional folk values, pray for good weather and wind, people live in peace, and feel secure in their labor and production to achieve a good harvest. The Vegetarian Festival is organized by the town people themselves. Near the festival, a Vegetarian Festival Organizing Committee was established with 10 members. Financial resources are contributed by members from near and far. The members do not receive compensation, participating in the festival mainly to maintain customs and create conditions for local people to have fun. The main ceremonial administrative area at Tan Xuan communal house. Previously, young men in the area had set up a festival stage. Mr. Tieu represents the great man - representing a bumper harvest, designed about a week in advance. Before the ceremony took place, a group of people invited Mr. Tieu from Linh Phuoc pagoda to Ong pagoda for one night and then brought him to the Soldiers' Monument. At Gan Ong Tieu (Food Alms Truss), a roasted pig (large or small depending on the year of good harvest) is displayed along with fruit cakes and incense sticks. Outside the ceremony yard, other activities took place enthusiastically. Underwater, ornately decorated boats go to process the souls of people in the Tam Vu River. On land, the Tripitaka group went to request sutras, awaken demons and eliminate evil spirits and diseases for good people... After that, all groups gathered in the main ceremony area. Exactly 24 o'clock on the night of the 16th day of the first lunar month is the Ong Tieu rig. People going to the ceremony compete for offerings hoping to find some fortune at the beginning of the year. Whoever could compete with Mr. Tieu's tongue had a prosperous year, so everyone jostled to find him. After 24 hours, all the rituals have been completed, it is considered that the people have testified to the hearts of the people of Tam Vu town, a wind-chasing ship will take everything to the river to return to its old place.

According to local people's beliefs, January is the month of festivals, the harvest has finished and people have food to eat so they should organize offerings to the spirits of the people. Vegetarian festival has become a long-standing custom for Tam Vu people to have the opportunity to gather together.